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By GCN Staff

Group seeks tech-based solutions to sticky government issues

Got an idea for using technology to make government run better? It could win you $10,000 from the 2014 Better Government Competition.

The Better Government Competition is a project of the Pioneer Institute, a non-profit and non-partisan research organization focused on improving public policy in Massachusetts. Ideas and innovations from the federal level are welcome, however, particularly when focused on information-sharing, fraud detection, reducing energy costs or streamlining agencies' reporting, licensing and regulatory processes. The focus of this year's contest is "leveraging technology to transform the public sector." Potential areas to address include:

Improving information-sharing between federal, state, and local governments.

Detecting and prevention of fraud in public benefits programs and the improvement of administration and oversight of such programs, resource and referral practices, identity verification, and cybersecurity.

Reducing the administrative burden and expense of complying with government reporting, licensing,

Addressing traffic congestion problems that affect all major cities in the United States with intelligent traffic solutions.

Reducing energy costs incurred by government agencies.

Using technology in education from virtual classrooms to technology for school safety measures, administrative work, and CORI checks

Improving wireless communications for law enforcement and health care providers.

The deadline is fast approaching; submissions in the form of short "idea papers" must be received by April 16. And determining what your ethics officer thinks of such a contest is up to you!